Remember His Faithfulness

I’m keeping today’s post simple.  As I think back over the last few days, I’m reminded of the importance of recognising and remembering God’s faithfulness, encouraging one another with stories of where we’ve seen it in action and pausing to give thanks.

After God had opened up the Jordan River to allow Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, Joshua called together twelve men- one from each of the tribes of Israel- and gave them some instructions:

“Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God.  Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder- twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  We will use these stones to build a memorial.  In the future, your children will ask you, “What do these stones mean?”  Then you can tell them, “They remind us that the River Jordan stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.”  These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”  (Joshua 4:5-7 NLT)

I love the idea of a visual reminder.  I know that despite the many times I have seen God display his power and his faithfulness, I can be quick to forget- distracted by problems in the present and worries about the future, instead of trusting in the faithfulness I’ve seen in the past.

So today I’m pausing to pile up some stones of remembrance.  I hope you’ll join me.

Here are three stones just from this weekend:

A friend whose life has been completely turned around.  Four years ago, he was lost and without hope, homeless, and trapped in addiction.  Now he is clean and sober, he has found hope and life in Jesus, and this weekend I was privileged to attend his wedding.  It was a wonderful day full of love, joy, and hope, and an amazing testimony to the transformation God can bring.

Joining in the wedding celebration with my church family.  Another transformation, not quite as dramatic as the one mentioned above, but still amazing!  When I think that two years ago I felt on the edge of church, struggling to fit in and not really feeling welcome, it amazes me to see how things have changed- how the new and unexpected journey God has taken me on over these last eighteen months or so has helped me to find my place and to feel I belong with these people.

Witnessing transformation in our community.  This Sunday we started a new series using the Alpha Course material as part of our church service and invited various people who don’t usually attend church.  It was encouraging to see several of them show up and to witness their interest and enthusiasm to learn and discuss.  It feels like God is at work in our community and it will be exciting to see how this develops over the next couple of months.

What about you?  What stones can you add to the pile?
Where have you seen God’s faithfulness or transforming power?

Let’s build up a virtual pile of stones right here in the comments to remember where we’ve seen God at work!